


Free to Be You and Me

by Bittah_Wizard



Category: Original Work
Genre: Family Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Monster mash, Recreating the Classics, Short Story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-09
Updated: 2019-01-09
Packaged: 2019-10-07 02:25:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17357168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bittah_Wizard/pseuds/Bittah_Wizard
Summary: A bastardized creature feature put to paper.





	Free to Be You and Me

_Mr. and Mrs. Argent,_

_Earlier today, I had to send your son Louis to the principal’s office after he got into a fight with a classmate. I know that the first day of school is tough for new students, but I cannot have this kind of behavior interrupting my class. I’m writing to you so that we may solve this before it becomes a recurring problem._

_The fight started in our share circle. Louis stood up, called Vincent Helson a “stinky doo-doo face” who “has a tiny brain and a tiny wiener.” Vincent tackled Louis, and Louis responded by punching him in the nose. Vincent’s nose was fractured, and he was sent to the hospital. I’m not sure what prompted the outburst, as Louis refused to speak to either me or Principal Talbot. Your son has been suspended for three days, and I would appreciate it if you could work through this with your son on the home front. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me._

_Sincerely,_

_Ms. Raines_

  

* * *

  

“CLAUDE! GET YOUR HAIRY ASS DOWNSTAIRS, NOW!” Bella Argent shouted at the ceiling. The sound of her husband’s quick steps could be heard seconds later. Bella walked towards the banister, heels clicking against the marble floor. Claude rounded the intricate wooden staircase, coming face-to-face with his furious wife.

“You shrilled, dear?” Claude loosened his tie and stuffed his hands into his pockets. “Did the grocer forget to deliver the steaks, again? Or did the salon cancel your waxing appointment? I know that you like to get that done around this time of the month.”

Bella glared, “You’re not as funny as you think you are. I just got a letter from Louis’ first-grade teacher. He got into a fight in school—broke some little bastard’s nose. He’s been suspended for three days!”

Claude sighed and ran his hand through his shaggy hair. “Well, hell. We knew this sort of thing could happen. He’s only six, he’ll learn.” He walked past his wife and into the kitchen. Claude opened the refrigerator and grabbed a beer. He popped the cap and gulped down half of the bottle. He turned back towards his wife, who had stalked after him with eyes blazing. He smiled at her frowning face. “It’s alright. Plenty of kids get into fights.” He set his beer down and gently grabbed her shoulders.

Bella sighed, allowed her shoulders to relax, and rested her head against Claude’s broad chest. “You’re right. But, we should probably figure out why he started that fight. We can’t just let him do stuff like this.” She untangled herself from her husband and looked back up at the ceiling. “Louis, get down here please.”

She waited. There was no response.

Bella was about to go get her son when the front door slammed, and her teenage daughter ran inside. Claire slid into the kitchen with her backpack hanging off one shoulder and her blonde bangs askew. She slung her backpack onto the counter and grabbed beef jerky out of the pantry. She tore off a hunk of jerky and chomped on it viciously. She paused mid-chew and looked at her parents, “What did you want with Lou?”

Bella huffed, “Chew with your mouth closed, young lady. You’re not an animal.”

Claire snorted, “Whatever you say. What did he do?”

Claude smiled down at his daughter, “He got into a fight at school and broke some kid’s face.”

Bella smacked her husband’s arm. “There’s no need to be so glib about it! He could’ve gotten into a lot more trouble _and you know it_.” She frowned at Claude. “Sure, most kids get into squabbles, but we raised them to think about problems before they react. This could’ve been much worse.”

“Yeah, he could’ve mauled that kid. We’d have to kennel Lou for at least a year.” Claire said lightly, a smirk on her face. “What were they fighting about?”

“Well,” said Bella, “your brother decided to call him names and the kid tackled him. Louis hit him in the face after that.”

Claire scoffed, “You really think that Lou would start a fight? That he would make fun of someone? You know that little twerp is like a bunny rabbit: stupidly happy and fluffy up until he gets scared of his own shadow! Last week I was watching the news for my social studies class and he started to freak out. He got scared over _the news._ He even ran upstairs crying about how he didn’t want anyone to hate him. Whatever that means.”

Claude looked curiously at his daughter, “You never told us about that. So, you think something else happened?”

“All I’m saying is that it doesn’t sound like Louis to randomly start a fight. It sounds more like me.” Claire hefted her backpack onto her shoulder and took another bite. Through a mouthful of dried beef, she told her parents, “You should talk to him. He’s been weird lately.” And after a final glance at her parents, she headed towards the study.

The two concerned parents exchanged a look, one that seemed to say more than either could aloud. Bella nodded once, took Claude’s beer, and finished it off. “I’ve got this if you could start dinner,” she said. “Steaks are in the fridge, and don’t forget to add a fruit or a vegetable. Don’t want us to die of scurvy.”

Claude chuckled and kissed his wife on the cheek. “Roger that, captain. Now go talk to our little brawler.”

 

* * *

 

“Louis,” Bella said softly. “Buddy, can I come in?”

She knocked on his door twice and waited.

She glanced around the hallway, looking out the large stained-glass window to her left. The setting sun glinted through the blue-stained panes, casting a greenish glow into the house. Bella closed her eyes and tilted her face towards the dying light, wishing it belonged to the moon. She jumped as a small voice called out, “You can come in, mommy.”

Bella slowly opened Lou’s door and stood in the entrance. Though it seemed empty, a tiny sniffle directed her gaze to the large bed in the center of the room. “You want to come out from under there?”

Another sniffle filled the silent air. A blanket rustled softly, and then a Lou-sized lump emerged from under the bed. The small, blanket-covered inch worm scooted across the floor until Louis lifted his head to peek at his mom. Eyes red from crying, Louis blinked rapidly.

Bella took one look at her baby and scooped him up off the floor. Louis squirmed like a worm and slowly escaped his quilt-cocoon. Bella sat down on the edge of the bed and softly stroked Lou’s hair. “I got a letter from your teacher today. She said that you got into a fight with another student. Do you want to tell me about that?” Bella looked down at her son, fighting the urge to maim whoever caused his snot-streaked face.

Louis didn’t meet her eyes. “He started it.”

“Can you tell me how he started it?” she asked.

Louis puffed out a shaky breath. Then, it was as if a dam had burst, “Me and Adira was playing at recess, we was having fun, and Adira is really nice, so nice that she has a puppy and said that I could pet it sometime, and then stupid Vincent with his stupid poo-poo face came over and pushed her down and said that his daddy says that people like her don’t belong here, that people like her doesn’t _deserve_ to be here ‘cause they’re _terrorists_ and that she better move back to _terrorist-land_ before he really hurts her, and then Ms. Raines calls us inside for circle time and I was so mad and I had to say something, mommy, I just had to, and then he jumped on me so I hit him in his stupid face—he also has a small wiener and I want you to know that ‘cause he does and he’s stupid and I like Adira and I don’t want her to move.” He finally stopped, his breathing choppy and labored.

Bella clenched her fingers into tight fists.

She breathed in. She breathed out.

“Honey, I am so proud of you for standing up for your friend. But, you should get a teacher when someone says hurtful things like that. You can’t get into fights, you know you can’t. You could really hurt somebody.” She paused, trying to slow her own anger. “Louis, you know that there are going to be bullies. I know we’ve talked about this before you started school. Why did you react like this? Why do you sound so scared?”

“Be-be-because of _the news_!” Louis wailed as tears spilled down his flushed cheeks.

“Oh, honey, Claire said something about that. What happened on the news?” Bella asked quietly.

Another sniffle. Louis finally met his mom’s eyes and whispered, “The bald man was talking about people that looked like Adira. He said that they were bad and he said we should kill all guys that are bad. They kill each other because they look different. _I look different!_ _Everyone is going to hate me!_ ”

Bella squeezed her son even tighter. “No one will ever hate you,” she snarled. “No one will ever hurt you.”

“But…what if someone finds out?” Lou blubbered.

“Even if they do, I won’t let anything happen to you. And do you know why?” Bella asked.

“Because you love me to the moon and back?” he whispered.

“Because I love you to the moon and back,” she affirmed. “And I think you look perfect just the way you are. You were born this way, and nobody gets to say anything bad about it.” Bella tilted her head and took a deep breath. “I’d really like to meet Adira. We should have her over sometime. What do you say, bud?”

“You don’t think she’ll hate me?”

“Louis, look at me.” Bella nudged her son’s chin upward. “Let me see your beautiful face.”

She felt the change in the air.

Pointed ears peeked out from shaggy hair. A ridged brow furrowed. Sharp claws poked through the back of Bella’s shirt. Tiny fangs peeked out of pink lips. Glowing yellow eyes blinked open.

Bella’s eyes flashed golden in response. “You’re beautiful inside and out. She could never hate you. You don’t hate her, do you?”

“No,” Louis lisped out, fangs getting caught on skin. The sniffles stopped. A tiny smile formed. “You really wanna meet Adira? You know she has a puppy that she says I can pet.”

Bella smiled around her own fangs. “Oh, yeah? You think she would let me pet the puppy? What about dad?”

Lou giggled. He nodded a few times and snuggled closer to his mom. “Do I smell steak?”

Bella laughed, “Yeah, baby, dad’s grilling steak.” To herself she muttered, “And there’d better be a damn salad.”

Floors below, she could hear the rest of her family howl with laughter. Bella felt moonlight begin to creep across her skin.

The house fell silent.

“We’re not monsters, are we mommy?” Lou mumbled.

“No, baby, we’re not the monsters.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

Bella looked out of Lou’s window in time to see the moon climbing the night sky. She closed her eyes and let the light wash over her. She breathed in. Louis breathed out.

She breathed in.  

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Comments, Critiques, & Kudos are all appreciated!


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